


An Unexpected Shopping Trip

by flibbertygigget



Series: An Unexpected Universe [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Gen, Grocery Shopping, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 13:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15341085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flibbertygigget/pseuds/flibbertygigget
Summary: "I'm afraid you'll have to wait for lunch," Mr. Snape said. "I didn't get out to the shops yesterday since Poppy decided she needed two dozen more Calming Draughts, so unless you like celandine or silver thistle you won't find anything edible in here."Harry and Mr. Snape go grocery shopping.





	An Unexpected Shopping Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [Des courses inattendues](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17159852) by [Matteic_FR (Matteic)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matteic/pseuds/Matteic_FR)



Harry woke up from his light sleep when he heard someone on the stairs. For a moment he stayed very quiet, hoping it wasn't Uncle Vernon, but then he relaxed. It was just Mr. Snape, who might have looked scary but had made him two eggs and let him have three whole glasses of water. In the five-year-old's opinion, that made Mr. Snape just about the nicest grown-up he'd ever met.

Mr. Snape stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and Harry froze. Aunt Petunia had told him to sleep on the sofa while she and Dudley took the bed upstairs, but maybe Mr. Snape didn't want him sleeping there.

"What are you doing down here?" Mr. Snape said, confirming Harry's suspicions. Harry jumped up from the sofa.

"Sorry, Mr. Snape," he said. "Aunt Petunia and Dudley took the bed upstairs, and she told me that I should sleep here. I didn't know if you wanted me to, but you were already asleep, so I couldn't ask you if it was okay. I won't do it again, I promise." Mr. Snape stared at him for a few moments before grunting and going into the kitchen. Harry followed, wondering what he could do to make up for whatever he'd done wrong. "Um, do you want me to make you tea or something, sir?"

"No," Mr. Snape said. He was opening and closing the cupboards almost at random, and then he started muttering to himself. "No milk... no bread... have to get more valerian root for..." Harry backed towards the table and sat in the chair, which was the only chair there once again. Mr. Snape looked over at him when the chair scraped across the floor, but he didn't yell at him or anything, so Harry supposed it was alright.

"Um, sir..." Harry said. Mr. Snape closed the last cupboard sharply.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait for lunch," he said. "I didn't get out to the shops yesterday since Poppy decided she needed two dozen more Calming Draughts, so unless you like celandine or silver thistle you won't find anything edible in here."

"It's okay, sir," Harry said. "I'm not hungry yet." Mr. Snape snorted.

"Of course you're hungry. Five-year-olds are, as a rule, always hungry." Mr. Snape pulled out a small notebook tore out two pages. He began to write two lists, one on each page.

"I mean, I'm not _very_ hungry yet," Harry said. "I can wait." Mr. Snape grunted and stuffed one of the lists in the pocket of his jeans. He took a thick white envelope from one of the drawers and drew several notes from it, stuffing those his other jeans pocket. Then he went over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

"To the shops," Mr. Snape said. "I presume that you and your cousin will require lunch eventually, correct?" Harry jumped down from the chair, suddenly excited.

"Can I come with you, sir?" he said. Mr. Snape looked at Harry like he was nuts.

"Surely you would prefer to stay here?" he said. He didn't sound very certain, so Harry decided to take a risk.

"Well, Aunt Petunia's still asleep. You probably don't want to leave me here alone in case I destroy the house by doing freaky stuff." Mr. Snape's eyes had narrowed dangerously, so Harry decided to try a different tactic. "I could help you carry the bags, too. I always carry the bags in from the shops for Aunt Petunia, and I only dropped the eggs once." Mr. Snape raised an eyebrow that made Harry think that he'd just said something weird. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"Mr. Potter," Mr. Snape said gravely, "I _never_ refuse help with the shopping, especially from someone who has only dropped the eggs once." Harry was trying hard not to show how excited he was, but he couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"So you're going to let me come?" he said.

"Didn't I just say that?" Mr. Snape said. "Get changed, and then we can go." Harry raced off to try to find which of the suitcases had all his clothes in it. He was really really happy when he found his favorite shirt on top. It was the one of Darth Vader that Dudley had outgrown before he'd even been able to wear it. It was almost like new, and Harry thought that Darth Vader looked really cool.

When Harry came back downstairs all dressed, Mr. Snape narrowed his eyes again, but he didn't say anything mean. Instead he asked what was on Harry's shirt, so Harry got to tell him all about Darth Vader. The story was a little garbled, since Harry had only heard the Stars Wars movie by pressing his ear against the floor when it was on the telly and Dudley wanted the volume all the way up, but Mr. Snape didn't seem to mind.

Mr. Snape told him that he hadn't seen a movie since he was fifteen and had snuck into a movie theatre to watch _Jaws_ with one of his friends. Harry thought that was weird, since Mr. Snape was a grown-up and could see movies whenever he wanted, but maybe Mr. Snape was one of those grown-ups who Uncle Vernon said like to pretend that everyone else was beneath them. Harry hoped not. He liked Mr. Snape.

Mr. Snape walked really fast across the bridge that Harry and Dudley and Aunt Petunia had struggled over the night before, and Harry had to jog to keep up. After the third time that Mr. Snape had to stop and let Harry catch up, Mr. Snape sighed impatiently.

"Is it alright if I carry you?" he said. Harry looked at him warily.

"I'm not a baby," he said. "I don't _need_ to be carried." Mr. Snape snorted and, in one fluid movement, picked Harry up off the ground and settled him on his hip. Harry hung on tight and buried his face in Mr. Snape's shirt at first, but it soon became apparent that Harry wasn't going to be yelled at for not keeping up and needing to be carried. That meant that Harry was able to relax and enjoy the fact that Mr. Snape was taller than Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon, which meant that Harry was higher up than Dudley had ever been.

The shop they went into was smaller than the ones that Aunt Petunia usually went to. Mr. Snape got bread and milk and eggs and apples first, muttering vaguely to himself about children and portion sizes. Mr. Snape stopped near the back of the store to study different types of meat, and then he turned to Harry.

"I'm afraid I haven't shopped for more than myself before," he said. "I have no idea what your aunt would usually buy. Do you have any suggestions?" Harry looked at the contents of the cart critically, aware that he was being entrusted with a very important question and not wanting to get it wrong.

"Aunt Petunia usually gets more of everything," he said. Mr. Snape pursed his lips. "But maybe you don't have to! I mean, Uncle Vernon didn't come with us. He eats like three times as much as Dudley, and Dudley eats like three times as much as me."

"Are you exaggerating for dramatic effect?" Harry shook his head, and Mr. Snape sighed. "Well, it seems that I may have to go through the whole bloody store again. My apologies."

"Um..." Harry said, not quite understanding what Mr. Snape was apologizing to _him_ for. He was the one who messed everything up by telling him to get more food. Then Harry thought of something else. "Oh! Aunt Petunia gets crisps and ice cream and sodas, too. And sweets. I'm not allowed to have any of those, though. One time the lady who was doing the bagging gave me a blue lolly, and Aunt Petunia was mad at me all day." Mr. Snape opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and began glaring at the chicken.

"Meat will be necessary," he said decidedly, and then he turned back to Harry. "Ice cream and sodas are utterly ridiculous. Crisps are reasonable, I suppose, and I do need more biscuits." Mr. Snape carried Harry through the shelves. He put in only one bag of crisps, which Harry thought was weird. When he saw the tea he grabbed four boxes, and then he got chocolate bourbons and hobnobs and some shortbread in a red tartan tin.

"No one in their right mind would actually eat shortbread," he said to Harry. When Harry looked confused, he added, "I just buy it to annoy Minerva. She's one of my coworkers and ridiculously Scottish." Harry and Mr. Snape were at the front now. Mr. Snape was putting the shopping on the counter when he paused for a moment. He looked at Harry, and Harry thought he looked a bit uncertain.

"Do you want a Freddo?" he asked. Harry stared at him.

"I thought you said that sweets were bad?"

"One sweet on occasion isn't dreadful," Mr. Snape said. "Besides, I remember getting Freddos when I was a teenager and being disappointed when they discontinued them for a while. If you want one, than I have an excuse to get one for myself as well." He smirked a little. Harry thought about this for a moment, and then he tried to smirk back. From the look on Mr. Snape's face, Harry wasn't very good at it yet.

"Okay," Harry said. "Thank you, sir." Mr. Snape put two Freddos on the counter along with everything else. Mr. Snape bagged the shopping, struggling a little with the number of plastic bags he had to put on one arm. Harry bit his lip as they left the shop. "Um, I'll take some of the bags, sir."

"No need, Mr. Potter," Mr. Snape said. Harry giggled a little at Mr. Snape calling him that. "Watch this." Mr. Snape slipped a long stick - his magic wand, Harry remembered - from his right sleeve and pointed it at the bags. He glanced around to make sure no one was looking. " _Ponduparibus_." Instantly his arm, which had been sagging under the weight of the bags, seemed somehow lighter. " _Accio_ Freddo." One of the chocolate bars shot out of the bag.

"Woah," Harry said. He struggled with the wrapper for a moment before Mr. Snape took the Freddo and unwrapped it himself - one handed! "How'd you do that?"

" _Ponduparibus_ is the Feather-light Charm, which makes this ridiculous amount of shopping somewhat more reasonable," Mr. Snape said. "And _Accio_ is a simple Summoning Charm. I usually do magic wordlessly when I'm not in front of one of my classes, but I thought you ought to know the incantations at least a few simple Charms." Harry took a big bite of the chocolate. It was even better than he had thought it would be.

"And I'll be able to do that?" he said. Mr. Snape smirked again, but it seemed a little softer this time.

"Of course," he said. "You are a wizard, after all."


End file.
